I can’t do yoga because I can’t touch my toes.
Saying you aren’t flexible enough for yoga is like saying you aren’t strong enough to go to a strength class. You go to a strength class to get stronger. You start with exercises that you can do and build strength at a level and speed appropriate for your body. But a strength class is not just about strength. You’re also improving agility, coordination and body awareness.
It’s not much different in a yoga class. Lots of people go to yoga to improve their flexibility and you start with movements you can do. And while yoga can help improve flexibility, it also helps with strength, balance, coordination, body awareness, focus and relaxation.
So if I go to your class I’ll get flexible?
Well, let’s talk about this whole flexibility business. Flexibility can be defined as the absolute range of motion in your joint. In other words, what’s the most extreme amount you can move a joint. That’s not necessarily a good thing…
Let’s go back to touching the toes. A person with more flexibility or maybe just long arms and short legs, will be able to bend forward and touch their toes. A person with less flexibility might only be able to reach their knees. Whether you reach your toes only measures one thing – whether you reach your toes. That isn’t necessarily an important thing to measure. Touching your toes doesn’t mean that it’s pain-free or that it’s a healthy movement for your body, or that you are flexible.
What is important then?
Your ability to bend forward without pain or injury in a way that allows you to do your normal activities and exercise – that’s what matters. You might never touch your toes but you can still have a healthy range of motion.
But I still want to touch my toes.
That might not be possible or might not be a good idea to force your body. Range of motion is affected by your muscles, ligaments, tendons, anatomical structure and joint structure. We can change some things and not others, and sometimes changing them isn’t a good idea.
What’s the whole point of bending forward then?
Whether you can touch your toes depends on your range of motion in your hips, backs, thighs, calves and ankles. Bending forward can stretch tight muscles regardless of how far you get. It’s not about how far, but how you feel the movement or stretch in your body.
In addition, how you bend forward and your range of motion will give you clues to how your body moves. You might learn what muscles are tight and could/should be stretched, versus your body’s joint or anatomical structure and what doesn’t/shouldn’t be changed.
And bending forward can have the added benefit of calming the body – when you change the direction of blood flood you can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, or the rest and digest response.
Bending forward and reaching for your toes is only one movement. There are thousands of dynamic and static yoga postures, as well as meditative and breathing practices. In any yoga class, each person finds something different. The goal is to find what you need for your body.
So the next time you bend forward, don’t worry about touching your toes – instead think about what you feel in your back, hips, legs, neck, arms, whole body?
